MLB

3 MLB FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 8/26/21

Matt Kupferle  —  @MKupferle Aug 26th, 2021
Jose Ramirez draws a fantastic matchup against Jordan Lyles on Thursday. Who else should we think about rostering?

Just like in other sports, the focal point of your daily fantasy baseball lineups will be your high-salary studs. These guys take up by far the biggest chunk of your cap space, but they also offer the highest ceiling. And in the case of pitchers, the high-salary options typically come with the highest floors, too.

For hitters, we're looking for guys with big numbers, strong matchups, and with players around them that are likely to produce well, too, increasing our chances for runs and RBI. For pitchers, we want big strikeout numbers, while the ability to go deep in a game and pick up a win is also valuable.

With your high-salary picks playing such a big role in your lineup, you need to be right on these guys, so let's take a look at a few top-end options you can count on to anchor your lineup today.

Max Scherzer, P, Los Angeles Dodgers ($10,500)

On mid-sized main slates like we have on Thursday, we need to be really careful with our choices at pitcher.

Fortunately, due to a lack of overall good options, Max Scherzer sticks out as the top option. While mega star Fernando Tatis Jr. has returned to bolster the San Diego Padres' lineup, this team is struggling at the plate. Over the last 30 days, they've logged only a .300 wOBA.

Now, they haven't been a hefty swing-and-miss team -- their strikeout rate over that same time frame is only 21.1% -- but Scherzer can provide enough juice in that arena. On the season, he's logged a 34.4% strikeout rate, and his 6.2% walk rate is one of the lowest marks of his career.

He's definitely worth paying up for on tonight's main slate.

Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Indians ($4,400)

While the Red Sox are certain to be heavily rostered tonight, the Cleveland Indians may not be too far behind in terms of popularity. That's largely due to the struggle of Jordan Lyles this season.

Lyles has been blasted for 2.02 HR/9 this year and has posted a 5.54 FIP over 138 1/3 innings pitched. He gives up far too much contact (18.5% strikeout rate), and there have been far too many fly-balls allowed (42.8%). Lyles has been hammered this season by all batters, and the switch-hitting Jose Ramirez can take advantage of the .460 slugging percentage and elevated 49.7% fly-ball rate Lyles has allowed to lefties.

Ramirez makes for a solid play tonight.

Kyle Schwarber, OF, Boston Red Sox ($3,400)

It's been back-to-back days, and the Boston Red Sox have scored 17 runs in the first two games of the series. Can they keep it up three nights in a row?

John Gant gets the baseball for the Minnesota Twins tonight, as he moved north after he was traded for J.A. Happ a month ago. The problem with Gant is that he gives out far too many free passes (13.3%), and he is getting obliterated by left-handed bats. This season, covering 217 total batters faced, he's allowed a .392 slugging percentage and a 34.9% fly-ball rate in the split.

Kyle Schwarber has plenty of pop at the plate. He's recorded a 144 wRC+ this season, including a 1.007 OPS against right-handed pitchers in 2021. He makes for a great bet tonight.

Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.